Hanging Knee Raises

What you'll gain

• Builds lower-ab strength through a full bar-hung range.

• Strengthens the grip and shoulders as a stability bonus.

• Lays the foundation for harder hanging core progressions.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Hang from a pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart and arms fully extended overhead.

2. 2

   Engage your shoulders by pulling them slightly down and back to keep your body stable.

3. 3

   Bend your knees and pull them up toward your chest by curling your hips under, not just lifting the legs.

4. 4

   Squeeze your abs hard at the top with your knees pulled high and your pelvis tilted up.

5. 5

   Lower your legs slowly back down over 2 to 3 seconds until you reach a dead hang again.

6. 6

   Repeat without swinging, letting the bar still completely between reps if needed.

Common Mistakes

• Swinging the body for momentum, which removes ab engagement and turns the rep into a leg swing.

• Lifting the knees with the hip flexors only, never tilting the pelvis up to load the abs.

• Dropping the legs fast at the bottom, which trains the descent poorly and adds shoulder strain.

• Hanging completely loose at the shoulders, which stresses the joints and reduces core stability.

About This Exercise

The hanging knee raise is the cleanest way to load the abs from a dead hang. Hanging from a pull-up bar, you pull your knees up toward your chest by curling the pelvis under and engaging the abs through their full range. It's harder than a floor crunch because gravity adds load and the grip has to hold the body steady while the core works. For app and course content, this clip belongs in any intermediate core block, calisthenics track, and abs-focused program. It's also the foundation for harder hanging variations like leg raises and toes-to-bar — making this clip essential for any progression library. Pair it with a hand plank and a Russian twist to cover the full beginner-to-intermediate core teaching set.

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